HEALING HERBS: RAISING THE ROOT
Man has forever been on a quest for the magical pill, drink, or salve that will induce an impressive erection reliably. And over several thousand years, certain herbs have gained a sexy reputation. So before you try prescription medicine or injecting hormones, you might want to try a few herbal approaches, says botanist and herbalist Dr. James Duke.
Here’s Dr. Duke’s rundown on a number of plants purported to pump up your penis, as described in his book The Green Pharmacy. You wouldn’t rub these on it, by the way. You’d consume them-as tea, or in capsules or some other form.
Anise. Contains estrogen-like substances that reportedly increase male libido. Estrogen is a female hormone. Oddly, some female hormones seem to have male hormone effects when taken by men. That may be what’s happening with anise.
Ashwaganda. Try this root, an alleged erection-arouser from the traditional folk medicine of India. But it’s meant to be taken occasionally, not daily.
Cardamom. This common spice contains a central nervous system stimulant. Does it have any sexual effect? Arab tradition holds that it does. It can’t hurt to sprinkle a little into your tea or coffee.
Fava beam. This contains a nice dose of L-dopa, a drug that, when taken in large enough doses, produces priapism-a painful, persistent, unwanted erection. Chances are that you’ll never eat enough fava beans to have that problem. But a manly 8- to 16-ounce serving might be a real pick-me-up.
Ginger. Or Mary Ann? One or the other always turned us on. Arab folk medicine says that this will make your putter perk up. Some scientists believe that ginger improves sperm’s swimming ability.
Wild oats. It works for stallions, and some studies say that human males get friskier, too, when fed wild oats. You’ll find the Latin name for wild oats, avena sativa, listed as an ingredient on bottles of some very expensive formulations for men in health food stores.
Wolfberry. This has been shown to raise testosterone levels. That’s not going to help with erections unless testosterone levels are really low.
Yohimbine. It works for some men some of the time, but the side effects are dangerous -including anxiety, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and hallucinations. If you want the effects of yohimbine, ask your doctor for the prescription version, yohimbine hydrochloride, which contains only the active ingredient and seems to have far fewer side effects than the herb. According to controlled scientific studies, one-third of men taking yohimbine get the desired result.
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